Digimon Hackers
by Kaji Motomiya
Summary: The most famous MMORPG everyone can't wait to play is "The Digital World," a game of battling monsters. But they are unaware of its parallel existence or the virus within the game. Eight children must battle the virus or be lost in the game forever.
1. Prologue: The Orgins

**Prologue A - Origin of the Digital World**

Author's Note: I do not own Digimon or the "cameo characters" that will appear in this series. I do not own the .hack-ish properties this story contains, but merely inspired by it. I own the characters created just for this story.

According to the video game Brave Tamer, the Digital World's beginnings can be traced to the early twentieth century, with the activation of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) - the first computer - which laid the basic foundations of the world. Subsequently, the first patented computer, ENIAC, was activated, and proceeded to build upon those foundations, shaping the Digital World. Over the ensuing years, through the continued growth of the electronic communications network on Earth, the Digital World continued to expand and grow, even after the ABC and ENIAC were shut down. There are multiple alternate reality incarnations of the Digital World, each one running parallel with the various multiple Earths that exist in the multiverse.

The different Digimon anime series are set in separate Digital Worlds. The basic mechanics, locations and inhabitants of Digital World appear in each, though the individual natures, origins, and histories of the worlds vary greatly. Similarities between the various Digital Worlds exist, however. They all basically parallel Earth's geographic features. There are continents, islands, deserts, mountains, oceans and almost all other kinds of terrain one finds on the topography of Earth. However, as data is easy to modify, and considering that the Digital World is made up of data, the features of any particular area of Digital World are subject to immediate and drastic alteration at any time. For example, a gigantic mountain can be formed in moments or halves of islands can be scattered across a sea with ease. The malleability of the Digital World makes it a frequent target of attack from within and from humans with malevolent intentions.

Although ordinary animals like birds and fish are known to exist in at least some of the Digital Worlds, the dominant lifeforms of all realities are Digimon. Digimon are sentient creatures that, like the Digital World, are made of data. It is possible for Digimon to travel to the "Real World," what Digimon call Earth, though this requires the opening of some sort of dimensional wormhole in Digital World.

Most of humanity does not know of Digital World's existence. The few humans that do either programmed some aspect of the original version of that world or were summoned there by a Digimon or another digital being. On rare occasions, however, a wormhole can appear on Earth, allowing people unknowing of Digital World to enter it.  
_  
-Wikipedia_

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**Prologue B - The Story of Yggdrasil**

The Genesis

During the beginning of the Digital World, there released a virus known as the X-Virus, an ancient form of the virus today. The super computer being known as Yggdrasil decided to wipe out the over populated Digital World by wiping out all Digimon infected by this Virus. In the end, he planned to destroy this world and make a new one, bringing only a small percent of the Digimon. Dorumon was one of those who contained the X-Antibody, but was rejected by the other Digimon. Those with the X-Antibody were those not chosen by Yggdrasil, but survived. The X Digimon and the normal were in chaos with each other, but the X Digimon were mercilessly being destroyed by Yggdrasil's Royal Knights, mostly Omegamon.

At times, Dorumon was targeted by this Royal Knight, but Dukemon, Omegamon's close friend, knew that Yggdrasil was wrong, and those with the X-Antibody weren't meant to die this way. In the end, Dukemon sacrificed himself to save Dorumon. Dorumon underwent his Digivolution into Dorugamon and fled, soon being found by a few refugee Digimon. But a copy of him, DexDorugoramon, had spawned many DexDorugreymon to attack the refugees and destroy Dorumon to implement Yggdrasil's Project Ark, the plan to erase all Digimon.

Dorugamon underwent another evolution, becoming Dorugreymon. He was supported by WarGreymon X, MetalGarurumon X, and the former Royal Knight, Dukemon X, who allowed him to see Yggdrasil up in the heavens. But he ended up fighting with Omegamon. Almost nearly been killed, Dorugreymon digivolved into his final form, Alphamon, the TRUE leader of the Royal Knights. He ended his farce with Omegamon, telling him that this wasn't the answer. he got the Royal Knight to agree, and the two set out to confront Yggdrasil.

But instead, they found DexDorugoramon. Thought they had a hard time, the Death-X Digimon was destroyed to bits. Once the two Royal Knights found the host computer, DexDorugoramon reformed into Death-X-mon. The Digimon, which became the source of the X Virus, was Alphamon's shadow, and won't be destroyed unless Alphamon was killed in the process. Alphamon gave Omegamon his X-Antibody after he killed the virus and himself, the two merging together into one entity. Omegamon proceeded to Yggdrasil and destroyed it. As a result, the Digital World resetted. Omegamon X and Dukemon X became the new guardians of this world, waiting for Yggdrasil's rebirth.

Years later, Yggdrasil was reborned, his eyes opened by Alphamon. But as long as Dorumon, or Alphamon, existed, the virus would continue to exist. So it was decided by him and the rest of the Royal Knights that Alphamon would be sealed inside the Holy Capital resting on ElDoradimon's back. With that, the virus was sealed. Or so they thought.

A dark god, one of Yggdrasil's most abominable creations, wanted this virus released, and created the Dark Crests to further it.

Ueda Kaito

Years before Tai and the others, around the year 1994, a high-schooler named Ueda Kaito had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Some believed him to be dead. But in reality, Kaito was the first human to ever discover the Digital World.

He met Leormon, his Digimon partner, and traveled this new world with him. In time, he grew fond of it, wanting to stay here forever. But it was fate that he and Gennai met, under the workings of Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil deemed Kaito worthy as the first Digidestine and asked the human to destroy a powerful evil God that created the 7 Dark Crests that opposed the Crests of Light. Yggdrasil scattered the Crests of Light to prevent them from falling into the evil hands of the god known as Milleniumon. Kaito and Leormon ventured into the Digital World, collecting the seven Crests of Light. Finding the Crests of Courage, Friendship, Knowledge, Love, Sincerity, Reliability, and Hope, the seven good aspects of a human, involved the creation of the Crest of Light.

But Kaito and Leormon hadn't finished their mission. They battled an evil human named Watanuki Hyuuga, and his partner created especially by Milleniumon, Arkadimon, brought to this world by the dark god to oppose Yggdrasil's Digidestine of Light. Their encounters increased until the end, and Hyuuga was ultimately defeated by the light. When Kaito and BanchouLeomon defeated Milleniumon, the god split itself into two beings; Kimeramon and Machinedramon, and retreated.  
(Ultimately, in the Wonderswan Games, Ryo Akiyama destroyed Milleniumon all together, resulting in the crossing of dimensions with his digimon, Cyberdramon, who is said to be a part of Milleniumon. Therefore, Ryo succeeded where Kaito failed.)

But the battle cost Kaito most of his energy. If he returned to the human world, he'd surely die. Knowing his time was drawing near, he offered his body to Yggdrasil, telling him that he would spend the rest of his days in the Digital World. In time, he died, and the Digimon God Yggdrasil had entered Kaito's body, and lasted for many years to this very day. Even now, Yggdrasil still prays for Kaito's bravery, and still regrets ever making such a young child fight a dangerous battle that ended up costing the boy his life.


	2. Chapter One: The Eight Children

**Chapter One – The Eight Children**

Author's Note: I do not own Digimon or the "cameo characters" that will appear in this series. I do not own the .hack-ish properties this story contains, but merely inspired by it. I own the characters created just for this story.

"Awright! Let's go!!"

An orange-haired male faced a giant red stag beetle with large pincers. By his side was a yellow baby dinosaur with red bracers on its oversized claws. "Don'tlet it get in our way, Agumon!"

_Hi! The name's Ichigo. Um…Hayabusa Ichigo. I hail from the great Osaka, Japan! Ever since the popular MMORPG, "The {Digital} World," was released a few years ago, I started playing the game like nonstop. I am an avid gamer, so I've played everything, even old school games! From first-person shooters to the latest strategy RPGs, from Japan to America, nothing gets past me! I will beat a game to its very core in less than a week with one hundred percent complete!_

"You got it, aniki!" the dinosaur called Agumon replied. It looked up at the monster and opened its mouth. "Baby Flame!" It shot fire from its mouth and toward the enemy, hitting it square on the head. It screeched and tried to attack again.

"Dodge it, Agumon!"

_Oh yeah, this is my Digimon, Agumon. You see, "The {Digital} World" is a special game that allows you to partner yourself with a monster called a Digimon. They come in all shapes and sizes, different attributes and families. Agumon is a Vaccine attribute, a Dinosaur type, and from three different families. The Digimon we're fighting is a Kuwagamon. Once I beat that, I'll gain some data and such, an' maybe I'll tell you about it later. Oh, right. The battle!_

Ichigo and Agumon dodged the pincers, now split from each other on both sides of the Kuwagamon. "Attack it, now!"he commanded.

"Sharp Claw!" Agumon roared and jumped at the Kuwagamon's face. His claw slashed at its head, now leaving a mark. It roared and sent Agumon flying toward Ichigo, who caught his partner."S-Sorry, aniki! Should we do it now?"

"Do we have a choice?" Ichigo sighed and stood up, taking out a strange device.

_This is a Digivice iC, our access into "The {Digital} World." It allows us to scan data and take in items, as well as EXP, HP, and etcetera. It also allows us to do this nifty trick that makes our Digimon even stronger! This is what it is to be a tamer!_

"Connection, Download**!"** Ichigo exclaimed as he lifted his hand. What looked like fractal code appeared on his hand. "Scan!" Then he ran the codes over the top of the Digivice iC, allowing it to gather data from the code. "Execute!"

Agumon began to grow in a flurry of fractal codes. "Agumon, shinka (evolve)! " His body grew in size into an orange dinosaur, horns growing on his arms and shoulders. He donned a new brown dinosaur helmet with red horns. "GeoGreymon!" he roared, completing his evolution.

"Show 'em th' power o' Digivolution!"

GeoGreymon pushed back Kuwagamon to a tree, opening its mouth."Mega Burst!"it roared and shot out a powerful stream of flames on the Kuwagamon, eventually burning the tree. The Kuwagamon began to disintegrate as a red egg with black spots floated into the heavens. Ichigo smiled as he watched this happened, GeoGreymon taking in the data and de-digivolving into back into Agumon. "I feel stronger now, aniki!"

"Yeah…hey, it's gettin' late, so I better get home. I'll see you tomorrow, okay Agumon?" With that, Ichigo began to disintegrate into fractal codes, lights saying that he logged off.

In the local arcade in Osaka, the orange-haired male removed the headset from the Docking Terminal, checking his cell-phone. "Hunh…no text message from Hikari-chan," he frowned and placed his cell phone away, leaving the arcade. "Oh! I wonder if Eiji-nii came home today!"Hoping this would come true, Ichigo ran straight home. His house was just a line of apartments, and his was in the middle of them. Fourth floor, three doors down. He took out his keys and opened the door. It was dark, nothing was moved. "It looks like Eiji-nii didn't come home…maybe busy at work again."

That's when he noticed something on the table. Someone was in the house…a package? He took the card and opened it, reading the kanji inside.

"Here is the birthday present I owe you. Happy Very Belated Birthday, Ichigo."

Ichigo looked down at the package and unwrapped it, ripping the paper. It was…no way! His very own Personal Docking Terminal! Ichigo blinked and smiled**. **"Nii-chan…you didn't have to do this…" Then he started to text the person named Hikari. "I got a PDT from my brother! I'll see you online soon!" With that, he ran to his room and began to set it up. Thank god it's the beginning of summer vacation!

-

"K-Katashi!" gasped a gang member in the ally. A blue-haired male stood from the streets, glaring at them. Walking toward them, he began to crack his knuckles. The gang tried to run away, only to find themselves cornered to a wall. The sounds of punches hitting flesh and bones breaking could be heard in the darkness, and the male walked out with only a few scratches on his face. Infront of him was a blonde, glaring at him. "Yamato-ku-" He couldn't finish. He was sent to the ground by a hard punch.

"What was that supposed to prove, Kat-kun?!" the blonde named Yamato exclaimed, grabbing the boy by his collar. "Beating up gangs won't make you any different than a gang member yourself!"He sighed and cleaned up his face with a handkerchief. "I thought you were over that…nothing's gonna bring back your friend."

Katashi was silent. He brushed Yamato's hand away and walked on, muttering to himself about revenge. As he got home, he applied medicinal aide on his face. It stung a little, but he was strong enough to bear it. Father wasn't going to be home again tonight, probably out drinking as usual. Mother was busy at work again, too. It seems like he's usually the only one home. "Damn that Yamato!"he growled, punching the mirror. He held back so it wouldn't crack. Wouldn't want that being found out. "Thinks he damn knows everything, but he doesn't know how I feel!" After relieving his stress, he walked out of the bathroom to the dining room, finding a package waiting for him. "Oh? A package from my friend in Tokyo…"The sender was named "Himura Jiro." Opening the wrapper, it was a new Personal Docking Terminal, unopened, unused. There was a card inside.

"I heard about your friend, and I know you've been logging on lately. I know you've told me that your family is hard up, so I bought you something from the company. The more you play, the more it will take your mind off of things. Don't worry, I'll always be there with you.

Your friend,

Jiro"

Katashi looked at the PDT and headed for his room. His room was quite a mess, but the computer was still intact. Hooking up the PDT, he took out a device from his pocket, a Digivice iC, colored white and blue. He hooked it up via USB and placed on the headset. Now he could play in the sanctity of his own home! He watched as the welcome screen appeared before his eyes, and he was taken into a world unlike his own, "The {Digital} World." There, he saw his partner waiting for him. It was a blue dog with boxing gloves, standing on its hind legs. "Gaomon…you ready?"

"Yes, master!" Gaomon nodded, and the two ran off into the distance, ready to challenge anyone who opposed them.

"Wait for us, Kaiser. We'll be the strongest…stronger than any Tamer!"

-

"Irrashaimase!!"exclaimed a young teen with long red hair as she greeted a lovely young couple at the flower shop. It being the last day of school for the summer vacation, summer lovers are sure to come in this season! On the counter were two girls, one older and one younger, though they look similar to each other. The one next to it was an orange-haired male with goggles around his neck. "Thank you, come again!" she smiled as the couple left. She fluttered to the counter and leaned on it, looking at the picture of the boy. "Look, Ichigo-kun! I'm running the shop by myself while my sister is away!"To her, this wasn't an easy job, mostly because she wasn't use to this kind of labor.

The scent of flowers filled the air. Roses, carnations, lilies, they were all blooming oh so nicely. Hinata knew this was a good sign. She had been thinking of Ichigo, hoping that one day, he would come in and by flowers just for her. As she went outside, she saw a girl crying because her balloon got stuck in a tree. If it poked the branches, it would surely pop. Hinata felt sorry for her and fixed her skirt, attempting to climb the tree. Alas, it was a failure, as she kept falling off. "Um…l-let's buy you a new one," she smiled, and the girl nodded, walking with her to the park.

After a while, Hinata watch the girl with her new balloon reunite with her mother. She smiled and waved goodbye, only to see a familiar face running down the street. It was Ichigo, who looked as if he was in a hurry. "I-Ichi-" she was about to call out, but she stopped herself. Why would Ichigo stop for her? At least, that's what she thought, and she felt a bit bitter inside. But then she smiled and turned back, trying to stay positive. "I know where he's going!" she said aloud and headed for home.

In the apartment above the flower shop, the room smelled like a garden. In fact, it looked like one! There were flowers and plants everywhere. Hinata waltzed to her room, humming a song through her lips as she opened the door. There, her computer was waiting, waiting to be turned on and used. She took her green Digivice iC and connected it via USB into the computer. The screen welcomed her with the Welcome Screen as her mind was digitized through the Digivice iC.

"Hmmm!"she sighed as she stretched out her arms. There, a flying plant Digimon with a pink flower over her green body floated to Hinata, who hugged her. "Lalamon!"she exclaimed as she squeezed her even tight.

"H-Hinata!" she gasped and struggled to get free. In time, Lalamon got out of Hinata's grasp, taking in deep breaths. "Welcome back, Hinata-sama!"

Hinata smiled to her partner and held her green Digivice iC in her hand. "Alright! Let's find Ichigo-kun!" As she wandered the Digital World's flower fields, she saw all the Palmon and Floramon and Deramon coming to her. "My friends!" she exclaimed and ran to them, exchanging hugs with all of them. Lalamon simply smiled and followed suit.

-

"And I said, 'I wouldn't go out with you even if you paid me to!'" The other girls by the blonde-haired girl started to laugh. She was a beautiful, slender, and busty girl. The other three who followed her couldn't compare. "So I made sure he never followed me again. You know what I did?"

"Ohhh, what?!"

"I got all my adoring fanboys to take care of the job for me." Then she scoffed pompously. "Whatever they did, they did a good job!" Every time I saw that brat's face, he ran away, crying like a baby!" The other girls began to laugh until one of them said,

"Speaking of fans, Yukiko, what happened to our gopher?"

Yukiko's ears perked at the word "gopher". "Oh, her?" she chuckled, "I sent her home."

"What?! But I wanted something nice to drink!"

"Who said YOU could use MY fangirl?" Yukiko took a step to her blonde friend and poked her chest accusingly. "Kokorono Makie is mine and mine alone, got it?" As they got out of the school gates, a limo was waiting for her. "Well, got to run, girls. Luxury doesn't wait for anyone! Ta ta!" As soon as Yukiko entered the limo, it drove off.

As it drove down the street, Yukiko drank her strawberry milk until she saw someone walking the sidewalk alone. "Hey, stop here for a second!" The limo halted to a stop, and Yukiko got out and walked to a short-brown-haired girl who was a few inches smaller than Yukiko. "Hey, Makie-chan," she said, "You tell anyone about this, I'll make your life a living hell."

"Huh?" Makie blinked as she looked up at Yukiko innocently.

"We're not going to see each other until the end of summer vacation, so…" She began to blush as she gave Makie a bottle of strawberry milk. "This is for you. Good job enduring with it so far. I expect you to do an even better job, okay?" And with that, Yukiko walked back into the limo, ordering the driver to continue.

Once they reached a mansion outside the city, Yukiko was greeted by a row of butlers and maids. "Welcome back, Yukiko-sama," they said, and Yukiko pointed at one butler and one maid.

"You two are with me. The rest of you can do whatever you want until supper." They all bowed to Yukiko and dispersed, the selected two following her. They were lead to a huge room with a really big flat-screen television. Under it was a computer tower with a wire connected to its USB. Yukiko sat down in front of the screen and placed on her neuro goggles, connecting an ice-blue Digivice iC to the wire that's hooked up to the computer. "You two are with me," she said to the butler and maid. "Hook up and log in. We're going to train for the Battle Frontier and beat the Kaiser…"

-

After Yukiko handed the strawberry milk to her, Makie just watched her leave. She looked down at the bottle of strawberry milk, and she let out a big smile, her cheeks turning pink. "Thanks, Yukiko-sama!" she called out to Yukiko as the limo drove off. She took her cell phone and started to text someone named "Daisuke". She wrote, "Yukiko finally acknowledged me! My hard work finally paid off!" After closing her phone, she proceeded to the bus stop, taking it to a train station that lead her from Odaiba to central Tokyo, getting off and taking another bus home. She ran past the kitchen and threw her bag onto the chair.

"You seem happy," went Makie's mother as she washed the dishes.

"I'm just in a really good mood!" Makie replied as she went to her little safe. After opening it, she took out a coin purse that said "game money" on it. "Mom, I'm going to the arcade!" she exclaimed and left her apartment.

The high schooler went down a few blocks, but not before stopping at Ai-Mart to pick up a few drinks. "Oh, Makie-chan!" exclaimed a voice behind Makie, who turned around to find that Iori was looking up at her. "Sorry to startle you like that. What brings you here?"

"Ah, I'm going to the arcade today! Is Miyako-san around?"

"Oh, about that…" Iori turned red a little and whispered to Makie's ear. "Miyako-nee recently confessed to Ichijouji-san."

"You mean Ichijouji Ken?!" Makie gasped and clapped her hands. "Good for her! I hope things work out for the two of them! Hey, are you two up for a game of 'The {Digital} World?'"

"That's why I'm here," Iori nodded, hearing the footsteps by the stairs. "Oh, Miyako-nee!'

"Makie-chan's here?" Miyako blinked and smiled, pushing up her glasses. "I guess we can go then, right? To the arcade! Let's go!!" The three of them left and headed straight for the local arcade. Paying their fare, they each took a Docking Terminal next to each other and pulled down the headsets to their eyes, connecting their Digivice iC to the system.

In the Digital World, Miyako and Iori had taken on different clothing than Makie. "Oh! You both took the 'Avatar Clothing Side Quest!'" she exclaimed. "Congratulations!" Nearby, she saw a familiar orange-haired male with goggles and an Agumon walking around File City. "Oh, it's Ichigo-kun! Ichigo-kuuun! Would you like to join our party?!"

Ichigo looked at Makie and smiled, waving to her with his gloved hand as he and Agumon ran to the three.

-

A young teen was surrounded by many computers. He was wearing sunglasses as he sat there in the dark, numerous screens flashing at him with their light. He had two, three Pocky sticks in his mouth. One was strawberry while the other two were chocolate…oh, wait, make that the other one. "Mmhm…well then," he said into his microphone, "it seems that your problem is that you don't have the right equipment. Here's what you do. Sell whatever equipment your Woodmon is wearing, and I'll make it into something better…huh? Oh, well your Digimon is a Champion level, and your Tamer Rank is at 14, so I'd say you should get your upgraded items at…say, in a few hours. Yes, I'm just good like that, I know. No problem, bye." After that, he took out his goggles and let out a sigh, turning off all buy one computer. "Now for a well earned break. I'm sure she's waiting for me. Heh heh…"

But before he plugged in his Digivice iC, he looked at his text message. It was from a girl named Makie. It said, "Yukiko finally acknowledged me! My hard work finally paid off!" He smiled and replied, "Good job, kid! I'll see you online, okay?" Afterwards, he plugged in his Digivice iC to the only computer on.

In File City, the silver-haired male looked around to find a girl with pink hair and sparkles in them standing next to a plant-like Digimon. "Oh Mimi-chan!" he exclaimed to her.

Mimi turned to the voice, and her face lit up. "Eee!!" she squealed and ran to the male, hugging him tightly. "It's good to see you again, Daisuke-kun! I thought you wouldn't go online today!...Where's Commandramon?" Palmon took Daisuke's hand and shook it, smiling and giggling as well.

"You know…he's always doing this…" Daisuke let out a mutter and turned to a building behind him. "You're still full of openings, Commandramon." It was silent, and then a blue reptile with a gun and a helmet jumped down infront of them. "If you want to be the perfect sniper, you have to learn to move without getting caught, understand?" Commandramon said nothing, simply nodded to Daisuke.

"Well, shall we go, my lovely?"

-

"Why won't you go out with me?!" exclaimed a student as he was pushed down by another one.

"Back off, I was supposed to ask her first!"

A girl with black hair and a pilot's hat with goggles let out a sigh as she stood up, letting the two boys quarrel amongst themselves. She was looking at an empty desk at the corner of the room. In kanji, a name was etched onto it, said "Hayabusa Ichigo was here!" She giggled slightly as she took her bag and left the classroom.

Switching her shoes to sneakers, she proceeded out the door. The girl's eyes widened when she saw an orange-haired male looking around. "Going somewhere, Ichigo-kun?" she smirked.

The boy was startled and looked back behind him. 'Ah! Sora-kun!"

"Heading to the arcade again today, huh?" She let out a sigh as she leaned on her hip, an eyebrow raised. "First day of summer, you don't have a job, and already you want to go spend your money on a game."

"Hey, if I had a P.D.T., I wouldn't haf'ta waste my money on an arcade!" He let out a huff and crossed his arms, looking away. "But it's th' only way I get t' see Agumon. So cut me some slack. Don'cha wanna see Falcomon, too?"

Sora smiled and patted Ichigo's head. "You're a good kid. Don't have a hard time growing up, okay?" She ran past Ichigo and said, "And cut the Kansai dialect! You're very bad at it!"

"Sh-Shut up, ya airhead!" Ichigo called back and smirked, rubbing the back of his head.

Her red Digivice iC was dangling from her pants as the train shook, Sora staring out of the windows. The sky was so clear, she wanted to fly in it. She really wished she did. Soon, she reached her stop, and she got off the train. That was quite the train ride. She felt a little dizzy, but once she got her legs, she continued to her line of apartments.

She watched Ichigo run past her and into the apartment that was next to hers as she prepared to open her door. Did he run from the arcade to their apartment? That's pretty far, but he's got quite the dedication. She smiled as she opened her door, noticing a package on her table. "Oh? I wonder who let this in…" As she was about to open it, she noticed a letter on the side. It was from Hayabusa Eiji. There was another letter next to it, but she decided to see what the brother of Ichigo had to say to her.

"Dear Wakahisa-san,

You may not remember me, but I am Ichigo's older brother. I was asked by your older brother, Haruto, to give this to you. He's very busy with his job and is doing the best he can to make your dream come true. I hope you enjoy 'The {Digital} World" as much as Ichigo does.

Hayabusa Eiji"

The next letter said,

"Dear Imouto-chan,

With my money, I managed to get you a P.D.T. Don't worry about paying me back; this is my gift to you. Enjoy the game with Ichigo-kun. I'll see you soon.

Love,

Nii-sama"

Sora smiled a little and opened the package. It was a P.D.T. "I guess I can't let this go to waste," she sighed and went into her room, setting up the Personal Docking Terminal and hooking up her Digivice iC to it. Soon, she was logged into "The {Digital} World."

Now in the File City, Falcomon came to greet her. "Sora-san!" he exclaimed. "Everyone's already waiting for you!"

"Waiting for me?" Sora blinked as she looked up at the Fountain Square. There, Ichigo, Makie, Miyako, and Iori were waiting for her. She let out an excited smile and ran to them.

-

"And the winner is…KAISER!!" In the File City Arena, the crowd cheered for a black-haired man with a dark expression. His Digimon was a BlackAgumon, who was grinning. "This is his fiftieth consecutive win today at a time of thirty-seven minutes! A record! A new record!" The male scoffed as he left the arena, everyone chanting the name, "Kaiser."

"Toushi-sama," said BlackAgumon as he followed his partner, "once again, we won without the use of evolution. But…I want to find him again."

Toushi stopped and chuckled to himself. "BlackAgumon, do you mean that Agumon you fought and had a hard time with the other day?" He turned to his Digimon with a condescending smirk. "I've never seen you so interested in an opponent before."

BlackAgumon nodded and replied, "I am a warrior at heart. I seek strong fighters. Even though you are a Legendary Tamer, and no other Gold Tamer has ever touched us, that one is different." He stood next to Toushi and let out a sigh. "That Agumon…has determination. He would be knocked down and would get up again."

"Hm…what was his name…Ichigo, right?" Toushi looked up at the sky of the Digital World. "When we see him again, he'll be nothing but gum under my shoes."

-

These eight children, separated by distance, are connected by a fate stronger than what they can control in this game. However, as they each enjoy their time here in what appears to be an innocent online game, a virus has seeped its way through.

In the Great Plains, Ichigo stopped as he heard a ringing sound. It sounded like an A note, one that a tuning fork would make. "Ichigo-kun?" Makie called out to him as she looked back to her friend. Sora did the same. All of a sudden, the two of them heard the sound as well. "Ah…what is that?"

"Hey, Makie-chan, we have to go…" Miyako sheepishly stated. "It's getting late, and my mom will kill me if I leave her to tend the shop on her own."

"And I have kendo practice with grandpa," Iori added. They hugged Makie and bowed to Sora and Ichigo, disappearing in fractal codes.

"Sora-san, is everything alright?" Falcomon asked as he looked up at his partner worriedly. "You seem…out of it."

"Aniki," Agumon poked Ichigo continuously. "What's up?"

"Hey, Makie…" Gatomon said as she tugged on Makie's skirt. "What's wrong? You three look like you've seen a ghost."

-

Katashi had just taken down a Minotaurmon with Gaomon at his side in the Windy Mountains. He was looking at the bubbling black spots over its disintegrating body. "Gaomon, what is that?" he asked.

"I-I don't know, master," Gaomon replied. "But it…it seems dangerous!"

-

"Mimi, get back! Commandramon, perform evasive maneuvers!" Daisuke held Mimi back with his extended arm as he glared at the black bubbles over a Kabuterimon that seem to gather, but still bubble. In the extended darkness, a purple seed-like object came floating out of it. "Wh-what the hell?!"

-

"Kaido-san, Emiri-san, log out now! That's an order!" Yukiko exclaimed as her maid and butler disappeared from the Digital World. She looked down at Betamon and smirked. "Are you ready, partner?"

"Heck yeah!" Betamon exclaimed. "I was born ready! .ON!!"

The seed-like object let out a droning sound and began to float about. It then fired multiple energy bullets at Yukiko and Betamon.

-

"Ack!" Hinata exclaimed as she ran from the seed-like object with Lalamon in her arms. "What is that?! That's not a Digimon I've ever seen before!"

"I don't think that's a Digimon, Hinata!" Lalamon flew out of Hinata's grasp and hovered near the strange entity. "Nuts Shoot!"

-

The black flames did not seem to faze this monster. BlackAgumon jumped back, growling. "Toushi-sama!" he exclaimed. "Never have I seen a monster take my hits like that! I do not see it losing any damage!"

"Then up the ante, BlackAgumon." A fractal code appeared in Toushi's hand as he held it up. "Connection, Download!"

-

"Scan!" Ichigo swiped his hand through his Digivice iC as Agumon was covered in fractal codes. Falcomon was also covered in fractal codes. "Execute!!" Soon, the two Digimon took on new forms, GeoGreymon and Peckmon. Sided with Gatomon, they all looked at the three purple entities before them. "Digimon, attack!"

"Mega Flame!" GeoGreymon roared, unleashing a hellfire from his mouth.

"Kunai Wing!" Using his speed, Peckmon appeared in the air, flapping his wings while throwing kunai-like feathers at the purple things.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon dashed through the flames and kunai-feathers and threw a powerful punch at one of the seed-things.

-

"No way…" Katashi gasped as Gaogamon's attack didn't go through at all. The entity seemed to draw closer, droning. "Nothing…it's as if it didn't get hurt at all!"

-

"Seadramon, return to File City! We have to log out!" Yukiko exclaimed, but as she pressed the Exit button on her Digivice iC, nothing happened. It's as if her signal was being jammed. In fact…she can't feel her arms and legs…or anything on the chair. "Wh-what's going on…"

-

"Mimi, go now!" Daisuke commanded as Mimi nodded and logged out of the game with Palmon disappearing too. Daisuke then heard the sound of Sealsdramon yelling in pain as he turned around, his eyes widening.

-

"S-Sunflowmon!!" Hinata exclaimed. A beam had shot out from the seed-like object through Sunflowmon. Slowly, her data corroded. There wasn't a Digitama as she disintegrated, disappearing completely. "Oh no…Sunflowmon! Sunflowmon!" Hinata's cries were useless as she looked up at the seed-entity that drew closer to her.

-

A beam shot out from its center and went through Toushi's chest. He felt what he never thought he would feel in a game; pain. It hurt so bad, how a digital wound like this could feel so real. "Agh…no…" he muttered as his color began to fade.

Daisuke's, Hinata's, Yukiko's, Sora's, Makie's, Katashi's, and Ichigo's colors also began to fade as the entity seemed to drain their data. Soon, they all fell to the ground.

Ichigo's vision was sideways, lifelessly looking at the fallen bodies of Sora and Makie. His vision started to static. Soon, the picture was losing clarity. "A…gu…mon…" he muttered, and the visual was lost, the Digivice iC that was in Ichigo's hand falling off the chair as his body did as well.


	3. Chapter Two: The Digital World

**Chapter Two – The Digital World**

Author's Note: I do not own Digimon or the "cameo characters" that will appear in this series. I do not own the .hack-ish properties this story contains, but merely inspired by it. I own the characters created just for this story.

Everything was…dark. Absolutely dark. No light, no stars, it's like an empty outer space without the planets, galaxies, stars, etcetera. Oh wait, strangely enough, there's oxygen. So this isn't outer space? Is this death? These were Ichigo's thoughts as he slowly sat up on some invisible floor. How strange to be in the middle of complete darkness, and you're standing on something solid. He placed his hand on his chest to find nothing, not a hole that strange monster had shot a beam through. But…it hurt. It felt like he was impaled, but the flesh wound healed. "Am I dead?" he asked himself. There wasn't even an echo. This reminded him of a question someone online had asked him, "If a tree in a forest falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" What a stupid question. "Am I still in th' game? I've never been'ere b'fore…" He then closed his eyes. "Maybe if I check my stats…"

Then he realized something. He can't check his stats. There wasn't a screen in front of him, or tiny little windows displaying the public chat, the news articles and announcements. In fact…he can actually see his hands. He can feel them, but he can't feel a controller or the Digivice iC. He can't feel the comfy rolling chair he was sitting on earlier or his cozy fuzzy slippers on his feet. He can't feel the cool fan blowing air to him during the summer heat. "What…what is this?!" he exclaimed. All of a sudden, six other people started to appear around him. Their colors were faded, but he can easily tell who some of them were. They were all lying on the ground, as if they were dead. Ichigo ran to them, first to Makie's body. "Hey…hey Makie-chan!" He later realized that…he can ACTUALLY feel them. "This…this is s'posed to be a game, right?!" He turned to Sora's body and started to nudge on her. "Sora-kun, wake up! Hey, Sora-kun!" Another body was familiar; it was Mori Hinata, a girl from Ichigo's and Sora's school. He crawled to Hinata and started to press on her shoulder. "Hinata-san…hey, Hinata-san! Wake up! Hinata-san!!" The other three children, he did the same, but they wouldn't wake up. "Wake up…wake up…WAKE UP!!"

-

Ichigo's eyes opened and blinked. He could see a clear blue sky, void of any clouds. "Oh man…that was a dream?" he asked himself…but if it was a dream, why would he see clouds? He sat up, and his eyes widened. Clouds EVERYWHERE! "Oh my god…I'm dead?!"

"Oh, Ichigo-kun!" chirped a voice behind Ichigo. It was Hinata, full of color and smiling. She looked fine, as if nothing happened. "You're awake! I was worried because you were moaning in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?"

A hand was placed on Hinata's shoulder as a girl with a pilot captain's hat and goggles smiled to her deviously. "Don't worry about that, Hinata-san," she chuckled. "Ichi-chan's just not used to wetting something that isn't his bed."

"H-Hey!" Ichigo exclaimed and stood straight up, glaring at Sora. "You promised you wouldn't speak of that…" Hinata giggled slightly and looked at the others. She let out a tiny gasp. "Hm? What's up, Hinata-san?"

"I…I can see everyone!" The blue-haired and silver-haired males looked around as well, and their jaws dropped slightly. Makie, who was in the corner, stood up with her hand over her mouth. The blonde-haired girl also looked around, but didn't say anything. "I-I can't feel the neuro goggles I was using earlier…or my chair or my Digivice iC!"

"Actually…I thought that too…in my dream, I mean," Ichigo replied, rubbing his chin. "But…where are we?" He looked at the blue-haired male, who said nothing to him but replied with a leer, and the blonde-haired girl let out a sigh.

"Isn't this the part where we say, 'This isn't Japan anymore, Toto?'" she sarcastically remarked. "Hey, nerd-boy with the goggles, stop looking at me." She noticed Makie, who was slightly afraid of what was going on, and her expression changed as well.

"Well…I think…this is the Digital World," the silver-haired male stated, and everyone stared at him. It was as if he stated the obvious. "I-I mean…well…it looks like the game, but…as that flowery girl said, it…seems a lot realer than a game."

"A lot realer than a game…" Ichigo repeated the boy's words and thought a bit. Actually, the pain before when they fought that monster, it felt real, as if he really was shot by a beam.

"Ah, by the way, the name's Daisuke. Satou Daisuke." The silver-haired boy smiled and placed his hands on his hips. "Expert tactician of "The {Digital} World," and Machine-type user."

"Oh…well…th'name's Hayabusa Ichigo," Ichigo grinned and gave Daisuke a thumbs-up gesture. "Any 'berry' jokes, an' I'll kill ya!"

"I'm Wakahisa Sora," Sora bowed politely to all of them.

"A-And I'm Mori Hinata…the three of us go to school together in Osaka…"

"Oh oh! My names' Kokorono Makie!" Since they were doing introductions, and three of her close friends already introduced themselves, she felt a little more at ease. She looked at Daisuke and smiled at him. "It's good to finally meet you in person…I guess, Daisuke-kun!"

"So you're Makie…funny how we met on the game chat, and now here we are in Heaven."

"You make it sound like we died, dork," the blonde girl scoffed. But seeing Makie happy made her happy. "Well…since you're all being sappy, I might as well…but remember my name. Mizushima Yukiko."

"Mizushima?!" Ichigo gasped. "Y'mean th' bottled water company, Mizushima Springs?! Damn, I love your stuff! It tastes like th' pure water y'drink when y'go campin'!"

Yukiko slightly turned red, and Makie couldn't help but giggle a bit. Then they all turned to the silent blue-haired male, who had not said anything since they got here. He gave them all a stare and sighed. "…Katashi…Fujimoto Katashi…"

"There, was that so hard?" Hinata smiled at Katashi, who looked away from her. "So…if we're in "The {Digital} World," where are we? I don't recognize this area…"

"Do not worry, young ones," said a voice as the sound of doors opening creaked upon this heavenly air. That's when everyone realized…there was a giant cathedral with them the whole time. How they had missed it was unbelievable. "All your questions shall be answered if you choose to step inside." Everyone began to look at each other, afraid to trust this…unknown voice. But Ichigo stepped forward and onto the steps of the cathedral with Katashi following right after him. The others nodded and also entered the cathedral with them.

Everything was white in the inside. It was like the pictures of the Roman Catholic Cathedral…or something like that, the one with the painted ceilings. As they all wandered down the aisle, wondering where the benches were, two small creatures stood in their way. One looked like an orange baby lion while the other looked like a white rabbit. "Awww!" Hinata and Makie squealed. "So kawaiiii!"

"Yo!" went the orange one. "The name's Coronamon!"

"And I…" the white one paused and took a girlish pose, "am Lunamon!"

"We are the guardians of this cathedral!"

"And we've been expecting you, humans! Come come, come this way!"

The others shrugged, but they had no choice but to follow the two weird creatures. "They…look like Digimon," Daisuke commented, and they all turned to him. "But I've never seen their type before…I can't tell what family they belong to or what level they are…"

"Judging by their appearance, they are probably of the Child stage," Makie commented. "But they are so adorable!"

"But Daisuke-san's got a point," Hinata added. "I've never seen Digimon like those before…"

"That is because these Digimon do not belong to your human games, but belong at my left and right side." The voice from before echoed from the end of the aisle. Lunamon and Coronamon were waving at the children, who all went to where the voice came from. They were surprised to see that the godly voice that seemed to come from some deity came from a child their age, a child wearing strange clothing. "Welcome, humans," said the child as he smiled.

"Humans?!" Ichigo exclaimed, as if insulted and stepped up to the altar, where he was stopped by Lunamon and Coronamon. "You look human yourself, bozu! So who are you?!"

"Hey, berry-boy…" Katashi spoke up and pulled Ichigo back by the collar of his overshirt, sending him sliding back to the others. "This guy…he's not human. I can tell by the way he looks, he's far beyond human…like a Digimon…no, even more than a Digimon…like a…"

"God," said the boy. "God of the Digital World."

"You mean the game, right?" Daisuke asked.

"Oh no, not your human game which I have allowed to intertwine with our world." The male turned to a hexagonal screen behind him and spread out his arms, revealing a view of a small planet, blue and similar to Earth. "This Digital World, the world in which Digital Monsters exist. You are no longer playing within your Earth realm anymore, but you are in our presence as real humans in the actual Digital World."

The children couldn't believe their ears. How did this happen? When did the game they all enjoyed so much turn into an actual world? "How?" Makie asked up, stepping forward. "Um…my…um…my…lord?" The other six children felt a bead of sweat drop from their heads as she said this. "Well, he is a God, so we must address him properly!"

"Um…please, no formalities necessary, Makie…"

Makie gasped and stepped back. "How did you know my name?!"

"Duh, he probably heard us outside," Yukiko commented. "We weren't exactly the quietest bunch."

"Actually, I know all of your names." The boy cleared his throat. "When you all entered the Digital World as players of your game, I recorded the information into my databanks. I know the name of every player who enters my world through their cyber realm." He then opened up multiple screens, revealing different players. "Yagami Taichi, Matsuda Takato, Orimoto Izumi, Akiyama Ryo, Motomiya Daisuke, Inoue Miyako, and so on. And you seven, I've especially taken note of, Mizushima Yukiko, Satou Daisuke, Wakahisa Sora, Mori Hinata, Kokorno Makie, Fujimoto Katashi, and Hayabusa Ichigo." The other children stared at the man, as if they were expecting something. "…Oh, I apologize. As I have said before, I am the God of the Digital World, Yggdrasil."

"Ya…Ya-eeg…uh…"

Sora turned to Ichigo, who seemed to be having a hard time saying his name. "It's Yeeg-drah-sheel," she sighed and smacked him at the back of his head.

"So, if you are the God of the Digital World, then what happened to us?" Katashi glared at Yggdrasil, expecting an answer. The others also looked up at Yggdrasil.

Yggdrasil let out a sigh and turned to the screen, opening it up to a new visual. There were a bunch of black bubbles floating around. "This is the latest visual that my Digimon have been able to send to me about the virus."

"That's the…the thing from before!" Yukiko couldn't forget it. Everyone couldn't, the pain that it caused them.

"So…it's a virus…" Daisuke wondered. "Has D.N.A. Corp. heard about this yet? But of all the glitches and hacks I've seen in "The {Digital} World," I've never seen anything like this before…"

"One of your…how do I call, System Admins have stated that this virus, which, as you call D.N.A. Corperation, has chosen not to make public to your fellow humans, is something even he cannot delete." Yggdrasil's face went grim as he turned off the screen. "Unfortunately, you are its first victims."

"Victims?" Hinata sounded worried by that term. When one says victims, it isn't often a good thing. "What do you mean by victims…"

"At first, we never knew the effects of this virus, but…" Yggdrasil turned to the children and continued. "You are the first humans it ever attacked. Because of this, your minds have been separated from your bodies and sent to our Digital World as real humans."

The children just stood there, shocked from the news. They were no longer sitting on their chairs or Docking Termnals, but in the actual Digital World. Thoughts went through their heads, such as how will Yukiko boss people around now? How will Daisuke be able to see Mimi? How will Katashi save his friend now? And so on…

"To prevent this from happening," Yggdrasil continued, "we should learn from this experience. And from what we learned, we will use to our advantage. This virus seems to cross from our Digital World to the Cyber Plane where the humans play their game, which is how you were killed by it. So then, I ask that-"

"Before y' ask anythin'," Ichigo interrupted, "what happened t' our Digimon?" Yggdrasil's eyebrow raised. "Normally in th' game, Digimon are turned int' Digitama after three o' their lives run out, an' we'd hafta go t' Primary Village t' get'em back." The others were intrigued by what Ichigo had to say. "…When I saw Agumon die…I didn't see a Digitama. What happened t'im?! Where's Agumon?!"

"And Falcomon too!" Now Sora raised her voice, for fear of her Digimon's safety. "I was with Ichigo and Makie in the battle, and I didn't see Falcomon's Digitama anywhere!"

"S-Salamon's, too! It's as if she didn't go back to Primary Village!"

"Betamon! Where's my Betamon?!"

"Tell me what happened to Gaomon!"

"And Lalamon! I want Lalamon back!"

"I usually sense Commandramon when he disappears, but I can't sense him anymore! Where is he?!"

The God saw how connected these seven children were to their Digimon, and a smile formed on his lips. "I always thought humans would just use Digimon as tools…but each of you, you've formed a bond with your Digimon partners. If you wish to know what happened to your Digimon…then I will show you." In front of Yggdrasil and the children were seven tubes. Each of them contained bits of data that now-and-then shaped into their respective Digimon. However, in the middle was a black and green hexagon that showed the symbol of each of their respective families, spinning slowly in place. "This is the data I was able to salvage for each of your Digimon partners. Around nine-seven percent of the data was recovered."

"So what is the other three percent?" Daisuke asked.

Yggdrasil remained silent, but then he answered, "The remaining three percent of your Digimon partners' data are their memories. They do not remember you since the time you picked them up when you each individually started the game. In game terms, they have returned to level one."

"That's a lie!" Yukiko exclaimed. "Betamon won't ever forget me! He calls me his number one idol, and he is my biggest fan! You're lying to me!"

"Unfortunately, I am not," Yggdrasil grimly replied. "Because the three percent of data holding their memories of each and every one of you formed into their DigiMemories." He pointed at the green hexagons that spun in place. "It is their love for you and bond with you that they used their memories to create this, the only way to keep you from getting infected by the virus."

"So…even if they forget us…" Makie held her chest and smiled while almost crying, "they did so to protect us…"

"Indeed. And so, I will grant you your Digimon back if you swear one thing to me." The children were all ears. "Save our world, both mine and yours, from this virus, no matter the cost. The future of both worlds depends on each of you."

The fact that Yggdrasil mentioned "no matter the cost," made them hesitate, but Ichigo walked up to Agumon's data. He smiled and grabbed the DigiMemory. "I ain't runnin' away," he smirked. "I've never ran away from anythin', an' I'm not startin' now." The other children looked at each other and walked toward their respective Digimon's data, each grabbing their Digimon's DigiMemory. They all glowed, and the data in front of them began to form. Soon, the Digimon's bodies were complete.

"I am impressed by each of your resolves. Especially yours, Hayabusa Ichigo. You've been showing great courage since you have appeared before me…though you lack in manners." The girls started to giggle after hearing this. "Ahem…before I send you out, let me return to you your Digivices." The Digivice iCs appeared before each of the children and floated down to their hand. Orange for Ichigo, blue for Katashi. Red for Sora, green for Hinata, and yellow for Makie. Cyan for Yukiko and grey for Daisuke. "These are the same Digivices you've used in the game, all with their same functions. However, you have all acquired something much more valuable than codes. You must awaken the DigiSoul inside you. Only then you will restore your Digimon partners' memories." This brought hope to the children, looking at their closed-eyes partners.

Then Ichigo realized something. "Hey…Ygg….Iggy-sama, you said seven of us were brought here by the virus, right?"

"It is Yggdrasil, and yes."

"But…when we were each attacked…I know this may sound crazy, but…I felt it. Each of us, even though I didn't know some o' you, and you weren't wit' me, Sora-kun, and Makie-chan, I felt that each of us were in pain." Ichigo closed his eyes, and he looked up at Yggdrasil. "I felt…an eight person also in pain. There was one more that was attacked the same time as we were. What happened to him?"

Yggdrasil's stoic eyes were widened, and Coronamon and Lunamon looked at each other worriedly. For the first time since their meeting, Yggdrasil said, "I do not know…but I fear for what has happened to this one you speak of."

-

Meanwhile, in a dark room with twisted bony walls, Toushi slowly woke up. He felt his chest to find the wound missing. "Where am I…" he muttered as he looked around. There were black bubbles floating everywhere, and he slowly tried to reach out for them.

"I would not touch them if I were you," said a voice by the door that opened, revealing a white light outside. In came a blonde half-dressed boy with multiple angel wings. He smiled at Toushi and looked up at the bubbles. "You've already been infected by the X-Virus. Anymore, and we would lose you."

"We…who are these 'we?' And who are you?" Toushi felt that he trusted this angel and slowly stood up.

The boy smiled and said, "My name is Lucemon, your guardian angel. And the ones I speak of are my allies that rule the Dark Area, and those who wish to reshape this Digital World."

"Digital World…I see…you speak of it as if it is not a game, but your home…"

"Oh, this Digital World is our home…and also our prison." Lucemon sneered and offered his hand to Toushi. "But with your power, we can rebuild it to our castle, our safe haven. I have seen your power, and the X-Virus accepts you. Come, join us, Seto Toushi."

Toushi looked down at Lucemon and reached his hand out to him. At first he hesitated, but when he held Lucemon's hand, he found him to take a new form, an adult form in a half black, half white suite. Half of his wings were angel wings while half were demon wings. "You…"

"Hm hm hm…now then, Toushi, come. We have much to discuss."

"Wait…" Toushi stood back and gave the new Lucemon a glare, one that made Lucemon smile even more. "Where is BlackAgumon?"

"Oh, your partner, right?" Lucemon chuckled and continued walking out of the cell room. "He's obsolete, deleted by the virus. We will establish you with a new partner. Come."

The black-haired boy hesitated, and then he smirked. "I see…so…then BlackAgumon was a weakling after all." And he continued to follow Lucemon out of the cell and into the white light.


	4. Chapter Three: Fire of my Soul

Chapter Three – Fire of my Soul

Author's Note: I do not own Digimon or the "cameo characters" that will appear in this series. I do not own the .hack-ish properties this story contains, but merely inspired by it. I own the characters created just for this story.

"Go now, children! The fate of both worlds depends on you!"

As the children descend from the skies, they find the clouds close up, as if Yggdrasil's Cathedral was never there. "I never want to do that again…" Yukiko muttered, holding her stomach as Makie patted her back.

"Where are we now?" Sora asked, and Daisuke took a good look around the area. "Daisuke-san?"

"I'd say…we're in the Great Plains…" Daisuke thought a little more, and then he added, "Just before we hit the ACTUAL Great Plains."

"Ohhh, I hate that place! I always get lost there!" Hinata jumped up and down as she complained. "But the good side is the huge flower bed there!"

"Hinata-han…" As the others talked about trivial things, Ichigo looked down at the bodies of their Digimon and sighed. "So…any ideas how we wake up these sleepy heads?" He knocked on Agumon's head to see if he will react, but nothing. That's when he noticed something on Agumon's left claw. "Hey, their bodies came together when we touched 'em," he thought aloud, talking about the DigiMemories given to them by Yggdrasil, "so what if I…" With one touch, the DigiMemory flashed, and Agumon opened its eyes. "H-Hey, guys! It worked! Find your partners' DigiMem'ries an' touch 'em!"

"I don't like how you said that…" Daisuke sighed and looked at Commandramon's body. He took off the Digimon's helmet and touched the DigiMemory, watching it activate. Hinata placed her hand on Lalamon's back, where her DigiMemory was located. Sora touched Falcomon's left wing, and Yukiko lifted up Betamon and pressed on his belly. Katashi lifted Gaomon's headband and felt his forehead, watching the light activate as Makie helf Salamon's right ear.

"Hunh…you wonder where Yggdrasil would've put these," Sora commented as the Digimon came to life.

They opened their eyes and looked at the respective Tamers, each of them blinking. The children looked down at their Digimon, each with a sort of expression that hoped they would recognize them. All of a sudden, the Digimon lunged themselves at the children into hugs, each of them yelling their respective Tamers' names (except Commandramon). "Hello, and good morning!!" they all exclaimed. This sort of phrase puzzled the children.

The first of the Digimon, Commandramon, looked up at his partner, and bowed to him. "It's nice to meet you, 'sousui,'" Commandramon said, and Ichigo immediately fell as Daisuke rubbed the back of his head. Sousui meant "commander," but it also means "leader." "My name is Commandramon."

"Ah! You're really pretty!" Betamon exclaimed as he jumped into Yukiko's arms, nuzzling to her chest. "I'm Betamon!"

Makie crouched down to Salamon as she set her down. Usually, she was used to Salamon in her Adult form. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Makie! I'm Salamon, your partner!" Makie knew Salamon didn't remember her much, so she smiled and nodded.

Lalamon flew around Hinata and nuzzled against her cheek. "We'll be best friends for sure, Hinata!" she exclaimed, smiling. "I'm Lalamon, and I'm always going to protect you!" And as quickly as she could, Hinata embraced Lalamon…a little too tightly.

"Sora…" Falcomon said as he walked to his partner rather than fly to her. He nuzzled his face against Sora's jeans, and Sora immediately picked him up. "I'm Falcomon, and I'll be your partner from here on!"

Katashi didn't say much to Gaomon, but Gaomon politely bowed to his partner and said, "I am your faithful servant, Gaomon. It's great to meet you, master!" Katashi still didn't say anything, much to the disdain on Gaomon.

And the last of the Digimon, Agumon, glared up at Ichigo, who glared back. Everyone was surprised by this, as they were the closest to each other than anyone else with their respective partners. This was an unexpected development. "Let's get these things straight," Agumon stated, "I'M the one who gives the orders here!"

"What?!" Ichigo growled and knocked Agumon on the head. "Y'ungrateful lizard! Is that what'cha say t' yer 'aniki?!'"

Agumon grinned and batted Ichigo's hand away with his claw. "You mean the roles aren't reversed?" This made the two grab each other's hands/claws in an attempt to show who's stronger, but Sora broke the two up.

"Commandramon, do you know where we are?" Daisuke asked his partner.

"I believe we're in the Digital World, sousui." Commandramon looked around, then at Daisuke and the others. "Why? Is there anywhere else that we should be?"

Makie's face grew worried. "It looks like he doesn't remember anything about the game."

"What game? There's a game?" Betamon excitedly ask.

Now Yukiko grew worried about Betamon. "It looks like they really don't remember…"

"In any case, we should at least tell the Digimon what's going on." Listening to Sora's words, the others agreed, and they began to tell their Digimon about what had happened. The mission sent by Yggdrasil, the existence of a cyber plane that links to the Game World. The Digimon listened intently, except Agumon. In the end, they agreed to help the children with their journey, as they are their partners.

"Then I say we go to Pyro Sphere!" Agumon exclaimed. "I wanna go back home!"

Ichigo glared at Agumon and walked up to him, his gloved hands balled into fists. "Didn'cha hear the others? We have a mission t' do!"

"But you don't even have a place to start! Home is where we should start!" Agumon and Ichigo glared at each other, then held each other by the hands and claws to show who's stronger. "We're going to Pyro Sphere, and that's that!"

"Y'always thought 'bout only yerself!" Ichigo retorted, pushing Agumon back as the others try to break up this little quarrel. "We have somethin' important t'do, and all y'do is just go home!" With his strength, Ichigo lifted Agumon and threw him to the side. No one expected that. Ichigo took a big breath and fixed his goggles around his neck.

"Then…I'll go home by myself! I don't need some human watching over me!" With that, the orange dinosaur stormed off from the group, and Ichigo just stood there, ashamed of himself.

"Ichigo-kun…" Hinata muttered and placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Let's go…the others are beginning to leave." Ichigo grit his teeth and pulled his shoulder away from Hinata, following the group from behind.

-

As Agumon walked along the Great Plains, he muttered to himself about stupid humans. "I don't need a human partner anyway…I'm fine by myself." As he said this, he stopped and rested on a nearby rock under a tree, taking in the shade. He let out a deep breath and saw the mountains across the Great Plains. There was smoke coming out the tip of it. "I just need to go home…I don't need this stupid journey."

He then looked down at his claws. They were covered in a red belt-like brace. "What is this…" he asked himself and took his left claw, trying to take them off. But something made his head sting. It was…a memory; a blocked memory. 'I'll keep these on as long as you want me to, aniki! These are symbols of my unbeatable power!' That's what the memory said. The word "aniki" echoed in his head; it was a familiar word to him. He took his claw away from the brace. "Eh, it's probably not important anyway…"

While he said this, he heard the obnoxious laughter of a group of passing Digimon. They were a group of BlackGuilmon and a BlackGrowlmon following behind. They were dragon or dinosaur Digimon, like himself, and Agumon was glad that he wouldn't be alone on his trip home. He jumped off the rock and ran towards them. "Heeey!" he called out to the BlackGuilmon and BlackGrowlmon, but the BlackGuilmon weren't too pleased with who they were to see.

-

"Hm…Agumon has a point…" Makie stated as she followed after Daisuke with Salamon in her arms. "We don't have an idea where we're going. We just started walking, as if we knew where."

"Well, I thought about that," Daisuke replied, "and he's right. We're going 'home.'"

"Home?"

"It's geek language, Makie-san," Yukiko sighed, placing her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "It means the starting point of the game."

Hinata watched this exchange and looked up. "And that would be…File City, right?"

"Correcto, Hinata-chan!" Daisuke grinned and looked at Commandramon. "File City is where everyone starts off in the game, so it's natural we should start our investigation there! Commandramon, do you have an idea where we are at the moment?"

Commandramon looked around, then at Gaomon, nodding to him. "This is definitely the Great Plains, but a bit farther from that. To get to File City, we'd have to cross the Windy Mountains. Pyro Sphere would be at the very peak of the mountain."

Ichigo's ears perked when he heard Pyro Sphere. "Windy Mountain…that's th' mount'n over there, right?" He pointed to the mountain that was behind them. Everyone's jaw dropped; they were going in the opposite direction. "I'm goin'! Agumon's…Agumon's goin' there, an' I hafta be there for'im!"

Katashi looked at Ichigo and smirked a little, crossing his arms. "I've got no complaints," he stated. "Gaomon?"

"File City is just over there, so…I'll go wherever you want me to go, master!"

"Then we're going to File City," Daisuke exclaimed. "Pyro Sphere can wait, but we can catch up to Agumon that way!"

Ichigo looked at the mountain, concerned for Agumon. Sora stood behind Ichigo and reached out for his shoulder, but he ran ahead. "Ichigo-kun, wait!" she called out to him, but Ichigo was already getting farther from them.

"Damn, he's impatient…" Daisuke muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "We can't lose sight of him!"

"You can't really blame him, Daisuke-san," Hinata commented, watching Ichigo disappear from sight. "Ichigo-kun and Agumon…are inseparable, even if they fight with each other. Ichigo-kun…will do anything for Agumon."

-

As Ichigo ran toward the mountain, his goggles hitting his chest as they bounced off it, he began to remember things. The first day he met Agumon, Agumon was also like that: rebellious and taking the role of the leader. They fought a lot, but they agreed on one thing, that fighting was their soul, and it's what kept them together. "Agumon…" Ichigo muttered.

-

Agumon fell back, covered in bruises. The BlackGuilmon chuckled as they kicked Agumon around. "Heh heh heh! Get this, aniki!" said one of the three BlackGuilmon to the BlackGrowlmon. "This baby dinosaur thinks he can stop us!" They started to laugh as the head of them stepped on Agumon's head. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The orange baby dinosaur tried to stand up, but the foot of the BlackGuilmon kept him down. "Get offa me!" Agumon roared in an unfamiliar dialect. Even he found that to be familiar.

"What was that?! Are you a tamed Digimon?" Now the BlackGrowlmon walked toward the Agumon. "Only a Digimon bound by the humans' games can speak in that…Kansei dialect or something!"

"Hey, aniki! He knows that we're going to raid Pyro Sphere, even after we said we're going to mingle with our fellow fire-breathing Digimon! Should we kill him now?"

Agumon's eyes widened, and with the last of his strength , he pushed the BlackGuilmon off of him. "Baby Flame!" he roared and fired a fireball at the three BlackGuilmon, who batted the flames away. Agumon gasped as he fell to his knee, panting.

"Heh heh…" BlackGuilmon B laughed as he charged up to Agumon and bat him away with his tail. "Is that all?"

As Agumon tried to get back up, the third BlackGuilmon opened its mouth, ready to unleash a purple flame from his mouth. "Pyro Grenade!"

The word "aniki" echoed in Agumon's head once again. It hurt, but for some reason, Agumon opened his mouth, and all he yelled was, "ANIKIIIII!!!"

All of a sudden, a shoed-foot stomped on the attacking BlackGuilmon and kicked him away from Agumon. As the two BlackGuilmons attacked this mysterious figure, the figure unleashed a spinning kick on the two, standing in front of Agumon. It was…"It's you!" Agumon gasped, looking up at the figure.

Ichigo looked down at Agumon and grinned. "Y'called, aibou (partner)?"

Agumon got up and growled at Ichigo. "You…I said I can handle myself! I don't need a human partner like you!"

"Y'felt it, right?" Ichigo asked, and Agumon was confused. "Our souls…just for a bit, we were connected. Th'way y'defended yerself 'gainst these punks…fightin's in yer soul too." Agumon looked at the three BlackGuilmon, who growled at Ichigo for making them look like fools in front of BlackGrowlmon. "Even if we fight…even if we disagree, we're always gonna be partners." Ichigo's words made Agumon feel something; he was right. They were connected somehow…and the word "aniki" had a meaning to him.

"Aniki…" Agumon said, tugging on Ichigo's overshirt, "I'm…Agumon, your partner."

Ichigo looked down at Agumon and smirked. "That's more like it, aibou. We're always gonna be partners…no matter what!" The DigiMemory, the Dragon Memory, began to glow on Agumon's left claw. Ichigo felt a surge of power flowing through him.

"Aniki, what is that?!" the lead BlackGuilmon exclaimed to the BlackGrowlmon.

"That's…that's a…DigiSoul!"

The orange-haired boy looked at his hands. They were covered in orange bits and pieces of data. "This is…my DigiSoul!" he exclaimed, looking at the opponents. "Let's go, Agumon!"

"Ha!"

Ichigo closed his eyes as he held his left gloved hand in front of his face, clenching it into a fist as the DigiSoul bursted in his palm. He then held out his Digivice iC in his right hand and raised his left. "DigiSoul, CHARGE!" he roared and slammed his DigiSoul onto the top of the Digivice iC, then he held it out toward Agumon.

Agumon rose in the air as he was covered in the DigiSoul. "Agumon, shinka!" he exclaimed as his body began to change. He grew into a larger, darker orange muscular dinosaur with a brown horned helmet with red stripes on it. He roared and slammed his tail on the ground. "GeoGreymon!!"

BlackGrowlmon chuckled and charged toward GeoGreymon. "Dark Blade!" he roared as the blades on his forearms slashed at the GeoGreymon, but GeoGreymon caught the blades, holding BlackGrowlmon's arms up. "What?! The power…of the DigiSoul is…so strong!"

GeoGreymon roared and slammed his tail on BlackGrowlmon's side, causing him to fall on the three BlackGuilmons. He then opened his mouth; flames shot out from all sides of his mouth as he opened it wide. "Mega Burst!" a stream of flames covered the BlackGuilmon and BlackGrowlmon, and soon they disappeared into data, their black Digi-Tama floating into the sky.

The others had finally caught up as they found GeoGreymon reverted back into Agumon. Ichigo fell back as he began to laugh , Agumon looking down at Ichigo. Sora sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Did we miss something, Ichigo-kun?"

"Y'bet!" Ichigo exclaimed. "That…was a rush! Man, DigiSoul is…somethin' else!"

Katashi looked down at Ichigo, interested in his comment. DigiSoul…Yggdrasil mentioned it. Was it that strong? "DigiSoul…"

"Man, get up, geek-boy!" Yukiko growled and held Ichigo by his collar. "Because of you, you made me run!"

Makie giggled slightly. "I'm glad to see you and Agumon are friends again…"

Lalamon flew around Agumon and sang, "Agumon's back! Agumon's back!"

"I guess we're settled then, right?" Daisuke asked as he pat Ichigo's shoulder. "Let's all head to File City now."

"Forget that, I wanna go t'Pyro Sphere now!"

Agumon looked up at Ichigo, and a vein pulsed on his head. "What?! After all that, you wanna go to Pyro Sphere?!"

"Oh come on, if those guys were from Pyro Sphere, imagine th'powerful fighters there!" Ichigo thought about it. Pyro Sphere was the home for all fire-based Digimon, and they had to be as strong, stronger than Agumon. "Let's go! I wanna go!"

"We're going to File City, Aniki!"

"I'm th'leader, I say Pyro Sphere!"

"Since when were you the leader?!"

The others stepped back a little, beads of sweat dropping from their heads. "Not again…" they muttered as Agumon and Ichigo clamped hands, trying to push at each other to show who's stonger.


End file.
